We were lucky to catch up with Melissa Grace recently and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I’ve always been an avid reader and writer, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I really started studying the craft of writing fiction.. “Save the Cat Writes a Novel,” “Romancing the Beat,” and all of Bryn Donovan’s craft books have been by my side since the beginning. Once you start learning about story structure, though, you can turn any book, show, or movie into a teaching tool. And that’s really what I did. I started noticing what moments stuck with me and why. I think what was most essential for me was just creating characters that felt real to me. By the time I’ve fleshed out a story, my characters feel as real to me as a friend, and at that point you’re invested. Not only do you want the story to be good, but you want to honor this person you’ve created to the best of your ability.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I write stories about love. While my books generally have a romanntic element, I really enjoy exploring the complexities of the love we have for our friends, our families, and for ourselves. No matter what characters I’m writing about, there’s always an emotional throughline about people finding their way home. Sometimes that’s to a place, and sometimes it’s to a person or a group of people.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Critique partners! If you’re a writer and you don’t have one, you need one. You need people that can lovingly and with utmost respect tell you when your work is trash. Sure, having people to cheer your work on is great too, but the ones that are going to make you better are the ones not afraid to hurt your feelings. They’re the people who will challenge you to grow. Being someone else’s critique partner and helping them with their work is like getting a free education. The more you stretch those creative muscles, whether working on your own project or assisting someone with theirs, the better you’ll get.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My hope is that when readers finish the last page they feel better than they did when they read the first line. I want to create stories that make people feel seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.melissagracewrites.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/heymelissagrace
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/heymelissagrace
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/heymelissagrace